As it is quite necessary, if only to fill space and express support, here on the site of my friend, I should post a review. So here goes:

In general, there are quite a few things that are "must see" in Luxor. For instance, it is not possible to miss the Temple of Karnak or the Morturary Temple of Hapshepshut or the Valley of the Kings. These things are all very well known and are magnificent in their own right, andI need not describe them in detail since you can read to your heart's content from a simple Google search.

I do wish to point out however two locations, a little further away from Luxor, that if ever your travels bring you to the region, you might find worth visiting. I should note now that it is no trivial matterto visit these locations. In order to get to them, you would have to join an local vehicle escort led by the Egyptian army. I suppose there are fewer ways for us civilians to ever feelmore important than to beprotected by vehicles of men holding Kalashnikov assualt rifles, but it is a rather curious part of the experience of visiting these rare locations in Egypt.

In general, a tour to Abydos would mainly deal with a visit to the Temple of Seti I. Seti I was the father of the prolific (sexual, military, architectural, etc., etc.) Ramses II. In this temple, you would see some of the most beautiful carvings that you could see in Egypt, as well as the rather historically significant carving of Ramses II as a prince reciting all the names of the pharoahs (except for Hapshepshut and for Akhenaton). Forthehistory buffinterested in seeing things of historical significance, you should not miss this site. After all,Abydos was the center of the national cult of Osiris worship. It has much morehistorical importance than, say, the impressive cliff temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel.

Now, if you visit Abydos, you would likely visit Dendera as well. Dendera was the center of the national cult for Hathor (the Egyptian equivalent of Aphrodite), and here you would see a very "Hellenized" temple for the previously mentioned goddess. It is rather interesting, in my opinion, to see how the Romans and Greeksabsorb the cultural characteristics (in this case, religion) of the people they conquer and attempt to create loyal subjects out of them. For instance, you would see depictions ofCleopatra and Emperor Tiberiusmaking offerings to the Egyptian dieties, though it is probably doubtful that, even if the former believed in the Egyptian dieties, the later gave any care about the goddess Hathor. Again,this is truly a site forthe history connoiseur (who would get to see the cartouche of Cleopatra). Actually,seeing as I have never heard of Egyptian insurrections against Roman rule, I would think that maybe we should bring our current leadership to this place to learn how exactly one should obtain the "hearts and minds" of an occupied people. But going on about a political rant is not the purpose of this site, and here I should make my end.